"I'm embarrassed more than anything. This one's for you, Wendy Williams. Girl down. I had a 'girl down' moment."—Kathy Griffin after fainting onstage after performing more than two hours in Dublin. At least it was near the end of the show.
Weeks ago, I said it was just the beginning of the sexual-assault parade. And it still hasn't hit its zenith. It started with Harvey Weinstein, but I never heard this gem. Did you know he made a woman watch him masturbate into a potted plant? That can't be good for the plant. It's like American Pie meets Little Shop of Horrors!
Last year, Kevin Spacey allegedly assaulted an 18-year-old male busboy at a Nantucket restaurant. According to the lad's mom, her son did lie about his age, so Spacey bought him "drink after drink." Once the boy was drunk, Kevin is said to have put his hands down the boy's pants and fondled his genitals. When Kevin went to the bathroom, a woman in the restaurant asked the boy if he was OK and told him to run. The boy just filed a police report. For his part, Spacey has laid low and checked into The Meadows, a rehab center in Arizona that comes at a price tag of $36,000 a month. He'll have good company—Harvey Weinstein is also in residence.
Picture it: 1981. Former model Scott Brunton was 23 years old, working as a waiter, and somehow he had exchanged phone numbers with George Takei. When Brunton broke up with a boyfriend, he called Takei, who offered to take him out to dinner and a show. After the show, they went to Takei's condo for a drink. Brunton said that after two drinks, he felt dizzy and "must have passed out. The next thing I remember I was coming to and he had my pants down around my ankles and he was groping my crotch and trying to get my underwear off and feeling me up at the same time, trying to get his hands down my underwear. I came to and said, 'What are you doing?!' I said, 'I don't want to do this.' He goes, 'You need to relax. I am just trying to make you comfortable. Get comfortable.' And I said, 'No, I don't want to do this.' And I pushed him off and he said, 'OK, fine.' And I said I am going to go and he said, 'If you feel you must. You're in no condition to drive.' I said, 'I don't care I want to go.' So I managed to get my pants up and compose myself and I was just shocked. I walked out and went to my car until I felt well enough to drive home, and that was that."
Needless to say, Takei is "shocked and bewildered at the claims." He actually goes one step further, saying, "I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do." OUCH! He added, "Right now it is a he said/he said situation, over alleged events nearly 40 years ago. But those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful." But there's more. Scott planned to confront Takei at a book-signing in 1994—13 years after the alleged incident. At the last minute, he chickened out—but he did get a book with this inscription: "To Scott—The enterprising man who boldly goes—to the stars. Fondly, George Takei." Now, call me crazy, but I don't know many victims of sexual assault who wait in a line to see their attacker at a book-signing and ask for an autograph!
Let's move onto one of our favorite subjects—divas! Jennifer Holliday recently saw the West End production of Dreamgirls. She said, "I went to see it in London, and a lot of people in that show looked as old as me. I said I could be in this one. But I enjoy seeing people make it their own." When she did the musical in 2012, she said that would be the last time. Now she says she'd do it again if it starred the original Deena, Sheryl Lee Ralph. "Maybe she could do Deena for a week or for one night only but maybe not want to tour with it."
Last week was an exciting one for Tom Daley—he walked in his first fashion show. That excitement was tempered when he was widely criticized for accepting the invitation of Dolce & Gabbana, a fashion team whose anti-gay views are notorious. The fashion show took place at Harrods in London. And not just in a department store, but in the food hall. So, basically, he made his modeling debut in the Pick 'n Save! And there were Tom and husband Dustin Lance Black, beaming in that vapid, oblivious way—more "models" than "role models." But if you're interested, you can see Tom walk and talk at the same time on our website.
This leads perfectly into our "Ask Billy" question from Gary in Miami: "You wrote about Shawn Mendes a couple of weeks ago. And now Tom Daley says he wants to have sex with him. So is he gay or not?"
I want to have sex with lots of people—that doesn't make them gay ( or interested ). Tom not only said that Mendes is his celebrity crush; he also said that DLB could film them in the act. Tom likes to document everything he does, even trying on pants in the D&G dressing room. I give kudos to anyone who can look good being shot from below! But I wonder if there was a bit of off-camera fluffing. Why? Well, for something that's been smushed in a Speedo for years, there's a lot of flopping about—as you'll see on BillyMasters.com .
When you could bump into Daley modeling in the condiments aisle, it's definitely time to end yet another column. You can check out all this and more on www.BillyMasters.com, the site that's into flipping and flopping. If you have a question, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Harvey gets a job tending the garden at The Meadows. Until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.
